Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
The Asian Boxing Championship scheduled to be held in New Delhi next month will now take place in Dubai.
The decision to shift the venue was taken due to the international travel restrictions to India .The event will now be organised by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) in association with UAE Boxing Federation.
The tournament was earlier scheduled to take place between May 21 to 31 at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi. BFI had also received the NOC from the Sports Ministry to host the tournament and the preparations were in full swing.
However, with the newly-imposed international travel restrictions from many countries due to the prevailing pandemic situation, BFI and the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC),jointly took a decision to relocate the tournament.
“BFI, in consultation with ASBC, has decided to conduct the upcoming 2021 edition of the ASBC Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships in Dubai on the allotted dates.
In a statement BFI President Ajay Singh said.“ It’s unfortunate that we have to shift the venue out of India. We were very keen to host the championships in Delhi but we are left with no options. Boxers’ safety is the most important concern for us and hence we had to take this decision.
“We are grateful to UAE for accepting our request and agreeing to co-host on such a short notice. We are thankful to all member federations and ASBC for their cooperation,”
“We closely monitored the situation and after deliberation with ASBC as well as the Government of India, we decided to conduct the tournament in Dubai. I wish for everyone’s good health and safety and pray that India soon come out of this situation strongly,” he added.
In a communication to all the member national federations on Tuesday, ASBC informed that the upcoming edition of the championships will now take place between May 21 to June 1.